Mayuri Upadhya brings her Broadway experience to the Bengaluru stage

Bhakti - A Shared Longing, choreographed by Mayuri Upadhya, will have its premiere in Bengaluru

History shows that Indian classical music and spirituality go hand-in-hand. While Purandaradasa, Jayadeva and Tulsidas are known for the Bhakti Movement, classical dancers and singers too connect more to their art spiritually. In fact, bhakti is the dominant rasa of most concerts and dance performances. . Classical-contemporary dancer-choreographer Mayuri Upadhya’s new work is no exception. Titled ‘Bhakti - A Shared Longing’, it will feature verses by

Purandaradasa, Akkamahadevi, Kabir, Lal Ded, Tukaram, Andal, Tulsidas, Meerabai, Namdev, Sadasiva Brahmendral, Guru Nanak, Basavanna and Rabindranath Tagore. To be presented by her institution Nritarutya, which she founded in 2000 with her sister Madhrui Upadhya, ‘Bhakti...’ will be premiered in Bengaluru on June 13.

Mayuri describes the production as “a multilingual, multidisciplinary immersive dance-theatre presentation that weaves together the soulful legacies of 13 Indian saints and mystics from across India. The production includes texts, dialogues and different Indian languages.”

She also says that dance, for her, “is more than just movement — it is a language, a way of communicating with the world that transcends the limitations of words.”

One of her most notable works is the broadway musical Mughal-E-Azam, inspired by the film of the same name, which has had 300 shows across the world. Mayuri, a recipient of the Best Original Choreographer Award (2018) by Broadway World for Mughal-e-Azam, returns to the Bengaluru stage with Bhakti... after a 14-year hiatus. She has also worked as the lead choreographer for The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation. This show, now into its third season, will soon premiere at Lincoln Center, New York, shares Mayuri. 

“My last show in Bengaluru was in 2014, which is why I was craving to stage Bhakti… here. “ It is an exploration of the term ‘Bhakti’ and the spiritual quest of human beings. It is the anchor in today’s time, irrespective of age, gender, and religion,” says Mayuri.

About the works of poets and mystics she has used for her production, Mayuri says: “They are more saints to me than mere poets as I believe they discovered a deeper inner truth that they revealed/shared with humanity. The more I read about them and their works, the more I found similarities in their concepts.”